Sinner and Swiatek fight back to enter US Open last 16

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek person proved they are lone human, showing that adjacent the champion players successful the satellite person to fig things retired connected the alert sometimes, arsenic they fought backmost to assertion victories astatine the US Open.

Wimbledon champion Swiatek embodied the day’s taxable of triumph done adversity, clawing her mode backmost from 5-1 down successful the opening acceptable against Anna Kalinskaya earlier grinding retired a 7-6(2), 6-4 triumph successful their third-round lucifer connected Saturday.

“I’m blessed that I came backmost and kept … figuring retired and problem-solving,” Swiatek said. “For sure, it wasn’t an casual match.”

The satellite fig 2 was acold from her sharpest successful a scrappy, error-strewn contention – 9 breaks and 67 unforced errors by some players combined painted the representation of a lucifer won done sheer bloody-mindedness alternatively than sublime shot-making.

Yet Swiatek steadied herself astatine the cardinal moments, redeeming 4 acceptable points successful the archetypal acceptable and breaking precocious successful the 2nd to notch her 20th large lucifer triumph of the play and gully level with defending champion and satellite fig 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

“It’s not casual sometimes to find the solutions and to find the nonstop happening that volition assistance you,” she added.

“You request to person your caput unfastened capable to deliberation astir what you tin do. Today was a beauteous bully day, I’d say, successful presumption of that, because, you know, astatine 5-1 oregon something, it’s casual to panic, and I didn’t.”

Her reward is simply a last-16 gathering with 13th effect Ekaterina Alexandrova.

World fig 1 Sinner showed akin resolve, surrendering the opening acceptable to 27th effect Denis Shapovalov earlier rallying to prevail 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-3.

The triumph extended the 24-year-old Italian’s unbeaten tally astatine hardcourt Grand Slams to 24 matches, a streak built not conscionable connected endowment but connected his quality to problem-solve erstwhile his champion tennis abandons him.

“I’m not a machine, you know. I besides conflict sometimes,” said Sinner, who was beaten by the Canadian successful the opening circular of the 2021 Australian Open successful their lone erstwhile meeting.

“Every lucifer is truthful difficult. Every situation is truthful difficult.

“There are players who person much qualities oregon potential, and he’s 1 of them. I conscionable tried to enactment determination mentally.”

Jannik Sinner came backmost from a acceptable down to bushed Denis Shapovalov [Elsa/Getty Images via AFP]

Zverev loses power – again

Not each the apical seeds recovered the aforesaid winning formula.

World fig 3 Alexander Zverev, inactive chasing his archetypal Grand Slam title, saw his tourney extremity successful vexation arsenic Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a acceptable down to stun the German 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev grew progressively rattled arsenic the lucifer slipped away, slamming his racquet successful vexation arsenic Auger-Aliassime’s fearless shot-making turned the tide.

The extended weekend’s astir intriguing conflict of wills is yet to come, arsenic Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff acceptable up a fourth-round showdown that volition predominate the headlines successful the 2nd week of the tournament.

Four-time large champion Osaka overcame a mid-match wobble to overpower 15th effect Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, portion past year’s champion Gauff dismissed Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-1 successful her astir convincing show of the week.

Organisers could not person scripted it amended for US fans: a showdown betwixt 2 charismatic erstwhile champions six years aft their memorable archetypal gathering astatine Flushing Meadows.

In 2019, defending champion Osaka routed a tearful 15-year-old Gauff 6-3, 6-0, past comforted her hostile and urged her to code fans successful the stadium, a show of sportsmanship that delighted the crowd.

“It would beryllium a chill benignant of deja vu benignant of situation, but hopefully it volition beryllium a antithetic result,” Gauff said.

Six years aft their archetypal gathering successful NYC, Coco and Naomi conscionable again successful Round 4 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SzSKAbnCFh

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2025

Even the doubles courts reflected the taxable of acquisition and determination, with 45-year-old Venus Williams and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez earning a 7-6(1), 6-1 triumph implicit Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi successful their archetypal tourney together.

Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev enactment an extremity to the fairytale tally of Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong successful 5 sets.

There were 3 much retirements successful the men’s gully connected Saturday aft the injury-induced exit of sixth effect Ben Shelton the time before.

Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti and 435th-ranked Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi each moved connected erstwhile their opponents threw successful the towel.

Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova bushed Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, portion Czech 11th effect Karolina Muchova and Ukrainian 27th effect Marta Kostyuk some won successful 3 sets.